Mailing bag or envelope



(No Model.)

W. A. VAWTBR. MAILING BAG 0R ENVELOPB. No. 497,037. Patented May 9, 1893.

NITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

WILLIAM A. vAwTER, or cIAIIcAGo, ILLINOIS.

MAILING BAG OR ENVELOPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 497,037, dated May 9, 1893.

Application led June 9, 1892. Serial No. 436,059. (No model.)

To tZZ Vwhom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. VAWTER, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mailing Bags or Envelopes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to that class of envelopes, bags or packages usually composed of paper and provided at or near the mouth with a iiexible metallic strip adapted to be folded over the mouth and secured thereto at its ends to close the mouth; and it relates more particularly to the construction of the envelope at its mouth where the said metallic strip is attached, whereby the said mouth may be opened freely without tearing the same away from the metallic strip, aswill be hereinafter more fully explained.

One objection found in the use of this class of envelopes has been due to the fact that the metallic strip while flexible has been more or less non-yielding and when the fingers were placed at the upper edges of the bag adjacent to the mouth and compressed for the purpose of opening the same, the said upper edge would tend to tear away from the non-bendingmetallic strip, and to obviate this it was proposed to secure to one side of the envelope near its mouth a tongue which should extend away from the mouth of the bag and above the same. To the upper end of this tongue the metallic strip was secured by being folded within it, and in that case the bag could be compressed at its edges and the mouth opened while the tongue and the metallic strip would remain practically straight. This form of envelope is more or less expensive owing to the extra work involved in securing the additional Hap or tongue to the envelope, and to avoid this additional expense itwas proposed to extend one side of the envelope above the mouth thereof and secure thereto a metallic strip that was more flexible in its central portion than at its ends, the strip being either perforated centrally, slit or narrowed, as conven-v ient. This form of construction answers the purpose very well provided the users of the bags will grasp the ends of the metallic strip between the fingers in order to open the mouth of the bag. Asa matter of fact, however, the bags when in use are handled roughly and unless the very toughest of paper is employed it is found that when persons take hold of the bag at the month immediat-ely below the metallic strip and press the edges together -for the purpose of opening the mouth of the In the drawings in Figure 1 I have illustrated a blank spread upon and ready to be put together into an envelope embodying my invention. Fig. 2 illustrates in a perspective View the method of opening the mouth. of the bag. Fig. 3 illustrates in a similar View the bag closed ready for the mail. Fig. 4 is a detail illustrating a modification.

LetA represent the blank of the bag proper which when folded upon the scored lines a a will come together, as illustrated better in Fig. 2, the upper edges a2 of the blank forming one side of the mouth, as shown. The other side of the mouth is formed by extending a portion of the blank upwardly into a tongue as, which tongue is slightly greater in length than the width of the bag.

B is a metallic strip of any suitable-metal of sufficient degree of flexibility to enable it to be folded by hand and yet possessing suf icient rigidity to remain folded as against accidental displacement. This quality of metal is Well known in the art. The metal may be imperforate throughout its length and of equal rigidity orltlexibility throughout its length. The strip B is placed, as shown, upon the tongue a3 at its lowermost portion so as to be adjacent to the mouth of the bag.. The upper portion of the tongue a3 is then :folded over the strip B so as to completelyconceal the same and the extreme outer portion of the said tongue a3 will then extend downwardly IOC into the bag, as shown by the dotted line h in Fig. l and as shown in full lines in Fig. 2, and is secured thereto by glue or otherwise. To enable those portions of the blank which come together to form one side of the bag to be folded upon the scored line ce a I slit the blank at b and b2. The outermost portion of the tongue d3, to wit, that portion that folds into the bag below the metallic strip B, I have designated by the letters C and c c and call the same the stay or reinforcing strip. The parts c c extend around the ends of the mouth of the bag and reinforce the sides thereof upon their inner surfaces at the very points Where the iingers of the hand take hold of the bag in order to compress it and open the mouth thereof, as shown in Fig. 2. With this construction it will be noticed that by compressing the mouth of the bag as shown in Fig. 2 the same will not be torn away from the paper tongue portion Within which the metallic strip B is secured, and hence a lighter quality of and a cheaper paper may be used in the construction of the bag. This construction also enables me to fold and make the bag very much more quickly, and by using an imperforate strip of metal B of uniform size or gage throughout its length I also make a saving therein over previous manufactures. In practice I find this style of envelope possesses great utility and is very advantageous.

In some instances I may make a separat-e reinforcing strip C c c ofthe same ora heavierpaper than the body of the bag, and paste it upon the strip shown herein. I may also use other material than heavier paper, such as clot-h, and may extend the separate strip c c only a short distance on each side of each corner of the mout-h of the bag, as, for instance, from the end of the piece marked c at the right 4o hand of Fig. 2, to the dotted line marked c2 in said figure; the particular purpose of the c011- struction described being to give great strength to the bag at the corners of the mouth, or in other Words, at the points Where the mouth of the bag and the metal strip B are connected. I do not therefore desire to be limited to any particular material or to the particular configuration of the strengthening strip.

Vhat I claim as my invention is# 1. A bag or envelope provided at one side of its mouth with an extension or tongue, a pliable metallic strip secured to the tongue, said strip being of greater length than the Width of the bag, and a reinforce extending Within the mouth of the bag from said strip or tongue and overlapping the corners of said mouth, substantially as described.

2. A bag or mailing envelope having one of its sides extended above Yits mouth to form a tongue of greater length than the Width of the bag, a pliable metallic strip also of greater length than the Width of the bag secured to the tongue adjacent to the mouth of the bag by the folding of the upper portion of said tongue over said strip, the extreme upper portion of said tongue extending below said pliable strip When folded and being secured by glue or otherwise to the inside of the bag at each corner of its mouth, substantially as shown and for the purpose speciiied.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM A. VAWTER.

Witnesses:

TAYLOR E. BROWN, ROBERT J. COPELAND. 

